Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke faced off with economic genius Representative Ron Paul during his monetary policy report to Congress on Wednesday. The head of the Fed was forced to respond to accusations of enriching already rich corporations while failing to help Main Street, while he was pushed on his views on gold.

Hayden’s Note:

I beg to differ. Gold has been a form of money – if not one of THE most popular forms – for thousands of years, along with livestock, other precious metals and durable goods. Gold isn’t money? Then what is money?

Princeton defines money as “the official currency issued by a government or national bank.”

“Money is anything that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts. The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange, a unit of account, a store of value, and occasionally, a standard of deferred payment.”

The Google dictionary defines it as “The assets, property, and resources owned by someone or something; wealth” or “financial gain.”

Dictionary.com states the following in regards to “money” –

–noun

1.

any circulating medium of exchange, including coins, paper money, and demand deposits.

2.

paper money.

3.

gold, silver, or other metal in pieces of convenient form stamped by public authority and issued as a medium of exchange and measure of value.

Now, gold is not typically thought of as a “circulating medium of exchange” but only due to the actions of the Federal Reserve and later, President Nixon.

That’s like owning a Ford pickup truck and painting a large Chevrolet symbol on the hood. It is not suddenly a Chevy simply by your fiat decree. It is still a Ford and everyone will see it as a Ford.

Is gold no longer a form of money simply because of government decree? Or does it possess an almost-inherent consideration as “money” through the spans of history? Have you ever known a large culture to not accept or use gold?

In closing, I leave you with the words of the Founders,

“If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them, will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”